Palazzo dei Priori
by elleindie
Summary: New Moon: Bella's trek across Volterra to save Edward from himself and the Volturi, written in the style of Edgar Allan Poe. Please read & review!


**Summary.**  
Based on Bella's trek across Volterra to save Edward from himself and the Volturi. In the vein of Edgar Allan Poe.

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**Palazzo dei Priori  
**by The Volvo, aka Lasia.

The city spread out ahead, a diamond in Italian sun.  
Old, decaying, antique, ancient in traditions,  
St. Marcus Day imposed the crowds that flocked, in red;  
Ahead, they gathered to celebrate a day they didn't understand.  
Lies bound within the red flags that flew, billowed in a harsh breeze;  
A hidden danger loomed, waiting, crouched to spring  
Within the fortress walls of the hidden palace,  
The vampires' city, Volterra.

The danger was what beckoned me, forward, ever forward  
Towards an unseen target which loomed within  
My company's sight; a granite figure, white as moonlight  
Stepping into midday's rays, shimmering like crystals  
In a misguided attempt at his own life. The bodies within  
That paradise-like prison acted as my roadblock,  
Impeding my intentions to stop his revealing vendetta;  
_Edward,_ my heart cried; calling, reaching.

The wall of bodies halted my progress, so that it seemed  
Minutes ticked by without movement, without him.  
Every ounce of my being cried out for him to hear me,  
Hoping that when I found him, it wouldn't be too late, that no  
Child within his mother's arms would point, a question in his eyes,  
On his tongue, at the glimmering diamond man in that hot Italian sun.  
A booming roar of bell rang out, and with a horrified glance,  
I saw the tower clock, hands at twelve.

Fleeting worry, fear for what would happen when  
The last of those thriving peals would ring out across the square;  
My eyes searched, hunted for the shimmer of the sun upon his skin,  
The telltale sign that his plan had run its course. I waited for the Volturi –  
Their unfamiliar faces, snowy skin, crimson eyes – waited for them  
To reach Edward before I could. My clumsy feet reacted to another pleading ring;  
Pushing, pulling, fighting my way through.

And there, just beyond the wall of flesh, a glorious flash,  
Within the shadowed lane – his onyx eyes against marble skin; my heart  
Thudded against its confines in my exhaustion-stricken chest.  
But I was yet too far away; another _dong_ rang from the tower, counting down  
Until his final moment, urging me ever fast. A family stood just beyond  
My destination, the final roadblock between he and I, impending death and rescue.  
The tower, my final foe, rang again.

Racing against time, the clock above ticking silently,  
A deadly reminded of what was at stake. The family ahead I rounded,  
My feet threatening to falter, to bring me to my knees. Only space lie between us,  
But even that threatened failure. I ran, pushing my will, pushing my luck, waiting  
For his feet to move, to step lithely into the sunlight and reveal his own existence.  
I cried out for him, waiting for glorious recognition, my lungs screaming in protest.  
My feet moved, but it was yet too slow.

My heart promised to shatter, to wrench itself into rough,  
Jagged pieces at his ominous destruction; I couldn't reach him, wouldn't be able  
To say goodbye before the Volturi ruined him quickly and swiftly.  
I cried out, my heart twisting as there were moments left, and little space between;  
His arms spread wide like angel's wings, as he had always welcomed my embrace.  
I closed my eyes as the final toll of the bell flourished, as I collided with granite wall,  
His welcomed arms around me once more.

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**Disclaimer.  
**I don't own it; it's all essentially moment-by-moment from _New Moon_. Even the style isn't mine. I'll I did was rearrange some words and make it rhyme in some places, make it a bit more suspenseful if it were possible. Blame my English professor.

**Author's Note.  
**This was written as an English assignment where we were supposed to imitate the style of Edgar Allen Poe, choosing a scene from a book, poem, song, movie, etc. I chose the scene in New Moon where Bella must cross the crowded city of Volterra to stop Edward's misguided suicide attempt. If you would like to compare my version to the book's, refer to pages 447-451 of _New Moon, _starting with the words "I didn't pause to watch Alice melt into the shadows" and ending with "His dark eyes opened slowly as the clock tolled again." Some parts were omitted for length's sake.

The assignment was graded on how well we wrote the piece and how well we imitated characteristics of Poe's writing, modeling techniques such as suspense, rhyme, and repeated phrases. My final grade on the project was a 100.

Please review! I was really proud of the finished product on this assignment. Let me know what you think of it.


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